Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environmental Affairs introduced the Tazi investment company on Tuesday, August 17 as the business that will erect a fence at Esperanza Farm near Secunda, where the Agri-Mall will be built.
The company introduction was held at Esperanza in the presence of small-scale farmers, business forums, the Govan Mbeki Municipality, local chiefs and agriculture cooperatives.
The local business forums wanted clarity from the department about the project’s background, engagements on future development plans and other stakeholders’ consultations.
It was agreed that there will be weekly meetings to discuss matters, including technical meetings, on the project site. These will be attended by representatives from all the beneficiaries.
The coming Agri-Mall project includes the construction of cannabis production facilities, aquaponics, a packhouse, hemp and bamboo production, piggery, monitoring boreholes and air quality testing facilities.
The Agri-Mall will also have an administration, training and research facilities and an exhibition hall.
According to the department, cannabis production will be the core function of the Agri-Mall and the construction of the accredited facilities for licensed production including the warehouse and internal sub-structure, mother, clone, vegetative growth, flowering, trimming, curing, storage, sampling and packaging rooms.
The department said establishing intensive fish and vegetable farming will also serve as a training and exhibition facility for local farmers and students and they will have various growing techniques that include deep-water raft aquaponics, closed-loop aquaponics and flood, drain media beds.
The department said also Sasol will also play a key strategic part and role in the establishment of a fertiliser incubation facility.
The department will conduct a topographic survey and geotechnical investigations for the establishment of a packhouse that will create a link for the small-scale producers and cooperatives with the main market (local, regional and international consumers) while improving the local supplies logistics. It will serve both the local farmers for processing of produce from the tunnels and shade nets as well as the ones from the aquaponics.
The 20-sow fully equipped piggery unit that will be isolated from crop production facilities will also be built.
The department also said that it is working with other government agencies like MEGA to invest in the development and the establishment of a solar farm that will supply the Agri-Mall with electricity and possibly sell the excess generated electricity to Eskom on contract.
The Agri-Mall project will be done over three department financial years while poultry houses-refurbishment, the establishment of tunnels, expansion of shade nets and the establishment of the pack house will commence within the 2022/2023 financial year in preparation for construction.
Cain Chunda, the Mpumalanga head of the Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, Land and Environment, visited the area during a potatoes harvesting event held at Esperanza Farm in April.
Chunda encouraged the people of Govan Mbeki Municipality to be serious about agriculture, as more opportunities are being created on the land that is donated by Sasol and also said even those who want to get into the legal cannabis business (marijuana planting), will be accommodated because cannabis is a new business with a new market.
The fencing of the land that was donated by Sasol resumed on Tuesday, August 16 and it is a three-month project with an allocated budget of more than R3m to fence 6.2km with a flat wrap razor wire boundary fence.
The fence is 1.8m high with an overhang of 450mm.
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